Diary
of a Traveling Sadhaka, Vol. 13, No. 9
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2017, part one)
The North of England and Paris
(Sent from Paris on May 30, 2017)
By Krishna-kripa das
(May 2017, part one)
The North of England and Paris
(Sent from Paris on May 30, 2017)
Where
I Went and What I Did
The
first eight days of May were busy for me, chanting Hare Krishna in
public in seven cities, namely Manchester, Newcastle, Durham, Leeds,
York, Scarborough, and Sunderland. During that time, I attended the
Wednesday evening kirtan in Newcastle, the Friday evening program in
Leeds, the monthly Saturday evening program in York, the Sunday feast
program in Newcastle, and a kirtan and prasadam
program
in Sunderland. On May 9, I celebrated Nrsimhadeva’s appearance day
doing harinama,
singing
the Nrsimha prayers and talking about Him with friends,
and
making halava
for
the Lord. The next day, my final day in Newcastle, I attended an
interfaith program during which people shared a variety of
interesting realizations. The next day I did harinama
in
Manchester, having missed my flight from there to Paris. The next day
I flew to Paris, and the following three days I did harinama
in
the greater Paris region, the first day with Janananda Goswami.
I
share a nice quote from a Srimad-Bhagavatam
purport
by Srila Prabhupada. I include excerpts from the books of Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami. I share notes on lectures by Srila Prabhupada disciples
Janananda Goswami and Gopaswami Prabhu, who were speaking in Paris. I
share some fascinating material on Hare Krishna devotees surviving
the war in the former Yugoslavia by Vrsabha Prabhu of Croatia, who
was visiting Newcastle. I include some nice points by Bhagavata
Purana Prabhu of Vrindavan, Yasoda Dulal Prabhu of Paris, and Keshavananda Prabhu and Mark of Newcastle. I include realizations
from the lectures and discussions at an interfaith meeting at the
Newcastle temple.
Thanks
to Krishna Dulal Prabhu of Ottawa for financing my trip to their
Vaishnava Sanga festival in August. Thanks to Janananda Goswami, who
kindly funded my trip to Paris, so I can do harinama
here
for seven weeks. Thanks to the Newcastle temple and York nama-hatta
for
contributing to my travels. Thanks to Shyamananda Pandit Prabhu
and
Govardhan Dasi for their donations. Thanks to the residents of
Manchester and Sheffield, who gave donations on harinama.
Itinerary
May
12–June 2: Paris
June
2–June 4: Antwerp Ratha-yatra
June
4–July 2: Paris
July
3–July 31: 13 days in UK and the rest in Europe
August
1–6: Polish Woodstock
August
7: Dublin
August
8: Boston
August
9–16: Ottawa Vaishnava Sanga Retreat / Janmastami and Vyasa-puja
August
17–27: North UK Ratha-yatra Tour
August
28–September 5: UK and Ireland
September
5–November ?: New York City (ex. Sept. 19–23: Philadelphia)
November
?– November 30: Florida
December:
New York City
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Manchester
After
the Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan, instead of taking a morning bus the
next day to Newcastle for six hours and doing harinama
there
like I usually do, I decided to return with the Manchester devotees
in the evening and chant Hare Krishna in public in Manchester the
next morning, and then take a four-hour bus to Newcastle. I realized
that
is a much better program, being less taxing on the body and mind. I
did meet some nice people in Manchester, and I distributed a few
books there.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Newcastle
Three
guests of our Newcastle temple, who like kirtan, decided to chant for
the Pancatattva, the first evening two of us arrived there from the
Birmingham 24-Hour Kirtan. Vrsabha Prabhu of Croatia led,
Bhagavata Purana Prabhu of Vrindavan played
the drum, and I danced
and took
this video (https://youtu.be/-m6_TtB5WTI):
My
first full day back, Bhagavata Purana Prabhu chanted with me in
Newcastle in the brisk spring air [52º
F (11º C)]
for 2½ hours. People liking the singing gave us £34.29 ($44.37) and
accepted 10 books, including 2 Bhagavad-gitas.
It is so much more powerful to chant with two people rather than one!
I do not recall ever distributing more than 8 books just by singing,
there, or anywhere for that matter, in that amount of time
(https://youtu.be/9kZvbQEJuY0):
Bhagavata
Purana Prabhu chanted with me in Newcastle the next day and in Durham
the day after, and he proved to be a very competent and reliable
harinama
partner.
I look forward to chanting with him on harinama
in
Europe in the future, if Krishna wills.
Every
Wednesday devotees in Newcastle chant Hare Krishna together for two
hours and have a nice prasadam
dinner. It is inspiring to see so many young people from different
nationalities attracted to regularly come to the program.
Here
Madhuri Devi Dasi, Radhe Shyam Prabhu, and Nitai Kirtan Prabhu, a
visiting devotee from Birmingham, lead the chanting one after another
(https://youtu.be/iX0iSeBcK7k):
Here
Dhananjaya Prabhu chants Hare Krishna at the Newcastle Sunday feast
and many devotees dance with enthusiasm
(https://youtu.be/2mJIdOYOp_U):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Durham
Thursday
I joined Bhagavata Purana, Kirtida, and Bhakti Rasa Prabhus, all
disciples of Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami, in chanting Hare Krishna on a
sunny but brisk May day in Durham, a college town in the northeast of
England (https://youtu.be/QmIhOy9w1BU):
Prior
to our chanting, in a park near the city we had a nice picnic lunch
which Kirtida arranged for us.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Leeds
Friday
I played harmonium and led the chanting of Hare Krishna on Briggate
Street in Leeds while Joe Kenny of Sheffield, who chanted with me the
next day in York and the following day in Scarborough, played the
drum. Two girls from Nottingham, who were passing by, danced to the
music, one saying she was vegetarian (https://youtu.be/OJrk5K2AtVg):
Joe
is learning the mridanga
and
is taking advantage of every opportunity to practice. Doing harinama
three
days in a row is a big increase for him and is very inspiring.
I
attended the Friday evening program at Ben Skinner’s place, and I
was happy to meet his regular attendees.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in York
Saturday
I joined devotees from Scarborough, Accrington, and Sheffield to
chant Hare Krishna in York. York is great place for harinama.
There are lots of people from all over. Two high school girls from
London learned the Hare Krishna mantra and danced. Ladies from a hen
party moved with the music. Thanks to Govardhan Dasi, disciple of
Srila Prabhupada, who sings beautifully and organizes the monthly
York harinama.
Thanks to Ashis of York for taking the parts of the video with me
singing (https://youtu.be/AGXJLdfr8W4):
Rasesvari
Dasi, a Prabhupada disciple from Accrington, who is standing next to
me in the photo below,
impressed me by driving with a friend, who is on her other side in the photo,
for
two
and a half hours to York to attend the harinama
and
evening program! That
is a great example of dedication.
It
was humorous that the bank behind the chanting party had a poster with
the caption “We are what we do.” That applies to us. We are
devotees of the Lord because we glorify Him: “Always chanting My
glories, endeavoring with great determination, bowing down before Me,
these great souls perpetually worship Me with devotion.”
(Bhagavad-gita 9.14) Indeed Lord Krishna tells the great sage
Narada: “I am not in Vaikuntha nor in the hearts of the yogis. I
remain where My devotees engage in glorifying My activities.”
(Padma Purana)
Alison,
who has been regularly attending the York programs
for at least a year, led the chanting of Hare Krishna for the last
ten minutes of the kirtan at the York monthly program
(https://youtu.be/VjNXyVPigTc):
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Scarborough
Sunday
Govardhan Devi Dasi chanted Hare Krishna in Scarborough, along with
John, her husband, who distributes flyers, Joe Kenny of Sheffield,
who plays the drum, and Ashis of York, who plays karatalas
(https://youtu.be/stqwUjnC2tE):
Chanting
in front of Superdrug in there in Scarborough, I recall that
Bhaktivinoda Thakura writes, “Lord Gauranga is calling, ‘Wake up,
sleeping souls! Wake up, sleeping souls! . . . I have brought the
medicine that will wipe out the disease of illusion from which you
are suffering. Take this maha-mantra—Hare
Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare / Hare Rama, Hare
Rama Rama Rama, Hare Hare.’” The Hare Krishna maha-mantra
is the Superdrug that will cure our disease of identifying ourselves with the material.
Here
is a close-up of our simple book display there.
I
was impressed that Joe and Ashis had decided to come home with
Govardhan and her husband after the York program so they could chant
in Scarborough with us the next day. I
had never chanted in Scarborough with so many devotees before!
Although
I like to chant for three hours in public every day, it was so windy
and cold in Scarborough, I was glad I had to stop the harinama
after
two hours to catch a train to Newcastle for the Sunday feast.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Sunderland
Monday
I chanted for three hours in Sunderland across from Bridges Shopping
Centre, and Keshavananda and I went to Ramai and Vrinda’s for
prasadam
and
kirtan. The prasadam
was
great as usual, and we chanted for an hour, with five different
devotees singing (https://youtu.be/MazQWgcmMME):
By
Krishna’s grace it worked out so well. Vrinda had the day off so
she could cook for us, and Keshavananda Prabhu happened to be working
in Sunderland that day, so he could attend and give me a ride home.
We decided to do it again the next time Vrinda has the day off when
Keshavananda Prabhu works in Sunderland, and I am in town.
Nrsimhadeva’s
Appearance Day
The
Newcastle devotees decided not to celebrate Nrsimhadeva’s
appearance on the actual day but on the following Sunday, so I had to
celebrate it myself on the actual day. Bhakti Rasa Prabhu did
harinama
with
me on that day for three hours, and four of us chanted the Nrsimha
prayers in the evening and shared realizations about Nrsimhadeva. To
celebrate I also made halava
for
the pleasure of the Lord using some organic dried fruit and nuts I
was given while chanting on Briggate Street in Leeds the Friday
before.
Chanting
Hare Krishna in Paris
I
have been coming to Paris since 2008 almost every year, and now that
Janananda Goswami is involved in developing our projects in France,
he asked me to come to Paris instead of staying in The North of
England and Newcastle, where he previously invited me to make my base
in the summer. Thus I came to Paris on May 12, determined to do three
hours of harinama every day.
Janananda
Goswami and his assistant, Gauranga Prema Prabhu, joined
Paris devotees on
their regular Saturday harinama
and chanted
Hare Krishna in a busy shopping area of Paris, Printemps on Hausmann
Blvd. (https://youtu.be/QWqnIGw2duM):
There
was a fire sacrifice at the Paris temple Saturday evening for a
marriage and a wedding.
Here
Yasoda Dulal Prabhu chants Hare Krishna during the fire sacrifice
(https://youtu.be/oczPo93V7LI):
Here
Rohininandana Prabhu, Paris harinama
organizer,
chants Hare Krishna during the fire sacrifice
(https://youtu.be/YdcgWrptp0o):
After
the noontime program on Sunday at Aksayananda Prabhu’s place, known
as Bhakti Loka, we decided to do harinama
to where the Indian shops are near Gare du Nord. Gauranga Prema
Prabhu, servant of Janananda Goswami, led the chanting of Hare
Krishna. On the way a djembe
player joined us for a while and some other people moved to our music
(https://youtu.be/RwQg0bkp8aM):
Janananda
Goswami chanted Hare Krishna outside the Paris temple during the
Sunday feast program (https://youtu.be/SeuUwYeTMQI):
On
Monday, we chanted Hare Krishna in Sarcelles, the Paris suburb
nearest where our temple is situated, and had a nice interaction with
a man who danced and bought a book and some children who danced. We
also had a not-so-nice interaction with a security guard who told us
to stop because we were on private property (https://youtu.be/lbnpzSFWEs0):
Sarcelles is populated by Muslims, Jews, and blacks, who are mostly Christians. There I encountered on the side of an apartment building this sign advocating religious tolerance:
To see photos I did not include, click on the link below:
https://goo.gl/photos/EmwFPgEGFRj4knXd9
Insights
https://goo.gl/photos/EmwFPgEGFRj4knXd9
Insights
Srila
Prabhupada:
“.
. . those who are interested in advancing in spiritual life must be
silent. Silence means talking only of Krishna-katha.
. . . We should also take this opportunity in life to become as good
as a great saint simply by not talking unnecessarily with unwanted
persons. We should either talk of Krishna or chant Hare Krishna
undeviatingly. This is called muni-vratah.”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
4.24.71)
Satsvarupa
Dasa Goswami:
From
Soul
Eyes:
“Freedom
Suite
“Freedom
suite comes in
Krishna
meditation. It’s a
happy
concentration and
a
playful romp.
“He’s serious, but happy to
be
playing on His flute.
All
the worlds respond.
He’s
the world’s best improviser,
making
inroads and outroads
on
melodies we’ve never heard before.
It’s
all new, and He takes a break
to
let it sink in with the boys
while
one accompanies Him
on
a lute.
Then
He’s off again with
squeaks
and rapid runs,
sonorous
tones at a medium
tempo.
The music embraces
Vrindavana
and the devas
in
the sky. They are all
enthralled
and breathless
with
wonder. Never
have
they heard such
freedom
suite.”
From
Begging for the Nectar of the Holy Name:
“The
benefit of chanting more each day on beads: you know there will
always be another chance. What you did so far this morning may not
have been very good, but there will be another opportunity. And even
if none of your sessions are particularly good, they will add up. You
are bound to have a few good moments out of so much chanting. But if
you finish after sixteen, then there is no more chance, and tomorrow
you will also probably chant poorly . . . so it goes with no room for
improvement.”
“Don’t
slight the names. You do that when you deliberately think or do other
things while you are fingering the beads and chanting. You don’t
like being neglected, so don’t neglect the holy names. ‘O Holy
Names, please notice at least that I am often attempting to chant You
in ecstatic devotion. I cannot accomplish this on my own. I need Your
help. One of these days my offenses will clear—please make it so.’”
From
Prabhupada
Nectar:
When
devotees were walking with Srila Prabhupada into a park, there was a
gate with a sign “No unauthorized access.” Kirtanananda advised
Srila Prabhupada three times not to go through the gate. Srila
Prabhupada turned to another devotee and said “Mahajano
yena gatah sa panthah [one
should follow the mahajana,
the authorized person].”
One
man considered Ramakrishna to be an incarnation of God. Srila
Prabhupada asked him why, and the man said that Ramakrishna had
delivered a drunkard. Srila Prabhupada said he had delivered many
drunkards, and not just any drunkards, but Westerner drunkards, so
that made him a bigger incarnation than Ramakrishna.
Comment
by Gopaswami Prabhu: A devotee praised Srila Prabhupada’s chanting
saying his voice was the best in the universe. Srila Prabhupada
replied that was because his voice was from beyond this universe.
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: Once a recording engineer expressed surprise that
he did not have to make any adjustments to a recording of Srila
Prabhupada because it was so perfect.
Comment
by Raja Dharma Prabhu: Subhaga Swami told us once that Srila
Prabhupada was walking with his disciples and some ice was ahead on
the path. Prabhupada warned the devotees about slipping on the ice,
but said that he did not have to worry as he was in a different
dimension.
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: On one occasion after Srila Prabhupada walked
over some muddy ground, the devotee in charge of Srila Prabhupada’s
shoes noticed they were perfectly clean.
Comments
by Janananda Goswami:
Every
time Srila Prabhupada came to London he sent from six to ten devotees
to other centers.
The
night they shaved me up the devotee who did it asked where I was from
and suggested that after a month or so I could return to my hometown
and start a temple there.
The
whole point of our life is to surrender to Krishna not to achieve
anything.
On harinama the Muslims are the most favorable, and often the Indians are least favorable.
One
leader in Edinburgh said, “Only over my dead body will the Hare
Krishna’s get permission to chant on our streets.” A couple days
later he died of a heart attack, and the devotees soon after got
permission to chant in Edinburgh.
Janananda
Goswami:
Once
in Vrindavan the priest got the mantras wrong and chanted the
sannyasa
mantras
for a marriage ceremony.
Marriage
is actually more renunciation for both the man and woman than
sannyasa.
A
grhamedhi’s
ambition to use everything and everyone to satisfy his senses. He
thinks, “Everything is mine.” He tries to accumulate more
and more.
The
grhastha
puts
Krishna in the center of the home. Krishna is the proprietor. He
thinks that his wife and children belong to Krishna and are for him
to serve. Money (Laksmi) belongs to Krishna. The parents’
aspiration is that the kids attain the goal of life, by going back to
Godhead.
Initiation
is to connect with the eternal disciplic succession coming from
Krishna and to free oneself from material bondage. Initiation is
important for one to learn to act in devotion to Krishna.
The
grhasthas
living
with Krishna in the center do the greatest service by teaching
humanity by their example how it is possible to live with jobs and
families but with Krishna in the center.
Srila
Prabhupada advised grhasthas
to
make their home a temple. How? By doing four things.
1.
By having an altar.
2.
By offering everything to Krishna on the altar.
3.
By chanting Hare Krishna with the family.
4.
By reading the scriptures.
Purifying
the consciousness by hearing the sound vibration of the holy name of
the Lord so material tendencies do not remain or develop is most
essential.
Gopaswami
Prabhu:
Advaita
Acarya had this mood of urgency that was demonstrated when he called
for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to appear.
Because
we have a vast philosophy, we have to be on guard about becoming too
entangled in discussing the philosophy and neglecting to promote the
chanting of the holy name.
Srila
Prabhupada wrote to the devotees in France, saying: “If you can
convince people there that God is a person that will be very good.”
Comment
by Pitavasa Prabhu: Guru Gauranga told the devotees who were
preaching to him that if they could convince him, he would stay. They
talked all night till mangala-arati
(the
early morning service), and they convinced him and he ended up
staying. He was temple president in France for some time. He was a
lawyer, and you have to be good at arguing to convince a lawyer.
Bhagavata
Purana Prabhu:
Aindra
Prabhu personally told me that the success of the 24-hour kirtan
party is when all the pilgrims who come there dance in the kirtan.
Lord
Krishna tells Sadashiva that those who come to the forests of
Vrindavan but then leave again are great offenders. Rupa Goswami says
one can only free oneself from offenses committed in the holy dhama
in the holy dhama.
Only by telling people about the glories of Vrindavan we can become
free from that offense of leaving the dhama.
“Krishna
Consciousness is also a sort of fight; but not with rifles. Our
weapon is karatalas.”
- Srila Prabhupada: Letter to Robert Hendry: 3 August, 1969
A
difference between the Nimbarkas and the Gaudiyas is that the Gaudiya
Vaishnavas consider the ecstasy of vipralambha
(separation)
to be greater than the ecstasy of sambhoga
(union).
In their enthusiasm to keep Radha and Krishna together in an
undisturbed state, the Nimbarkas reject the cowherd boyfriends, the
cows, and the parents of Krishna.
Why
are there so many different religions, even within Vaishnavism?
Krishna is very smart, and He knows that we are all different, thus
He gives people different practices of religion which they are able
to accept.
Vrsabha
Prabhu:
Material
opulence can never give us satisfaction. There was one beautiful
opera singer who was very fat and voluntarily ate a tape worm, hoping
that would help her become more shapely. It worked, but unfortunately
the worm did not leave enough to nourish her, and she ultimately
died. Other people who were rich and famous, not being satisfied,
turned to drugs and ruined their lives. So many examples are there,
Elvis Presley, Marilyn Monoe, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Jackson, etc.
Many
people received Srila Prabhupada’s books in Yugoslavia, but most
did not take them seriously. When the war began, however, people
began to take the books off the shelves and read them.
Sarajevo
is a city in valley, and Serbian soldiers surrounded it. Only a
one-kilometer tunnel the residents had dug could take people out of
the city. One man, who read the books and heard there were devotees
in Sarajevo, wanted to go inside the city. No one could believe it.
He did and found the devotees and became one.
The
UN donated two truck loads of ingredients to devotees distributing
food in Sarajevo.
The
devotees in Sarajevo were so enthusiastic to hear about Krishna, they
would walk across the city at the risk of being shot by Serbian
snipers, either coming or going to the Sunday feast. One invalid
devotee had a friend who would bring him and his wheelchair, one at a
time, down 14 flights of stairs and push him 7 kilometers to the
Sunday feast.
There
is one Croatian devotee Madhavananda who was captured by the
Serbians, who put him to work in a death camp. He refused to eat
meat, and said, “You can kill me but I will not eat meat.” They
needed him to dig ditches, so they gave him vegetarian food. He would
preach Bhagavad-gita
to
people in the camp, whether they were Croatians or Muslims. Serbian
army people noticed that the people who heard his preaching were
easier to control, so they told him to give classes twice a day and
gave him an office to prepare for them. Previously before being
captured, he had organized a gurukula
in
one city
because
the men were engaged in the war and the city was filled with women
and children who were unengaged. He taught them verses and bhajanas
and
the chanting of Hare Krishna. Even so many years later, he still gets
messages on Facebook or by email from kids who were there, thanking
him for taking care of them.
One
woman who came to Hare Krishna in Sarvejo during the war, considered,
“When I was chanting Hare Krishna in a mood of helplessness and
praying to God, I was in bliss, I complete forgot about my
identification with the material body. That was best time of my
life.”
One
person who later became a devotee but was an atheist at the time,
when he saw a line of Serbian tanks approaching him, addressed the
Lord, “Dear God, if you really exist, get me out of this
situation.” Dark clouds appeared, lightning struck his machine gun,
which exploded and blew off his boots and left him unconscious. He
was moved off the battlefield and was saved. Many of his friends were
killed.
Sometimes
war causes people to take shelter of God. Many people in Bosnia, and
also in Croatia, became devotees because of the war. Not a single
devotee in Bosnia died or was injured.
Just
one virus, so small you cannot see it, can reduce a body builder, who
has worked out for years, to a skin-and-bones guy like me.
God
does not need money from us. He is the richest person in the world.
God
demands us to give up only that which is not good for us anyway,
sinful activities.
Comments
by Bhakti Rasa Prabhu:
One
of the consequences of misusing of our independence is that we come
to this world. You can say “if things are so nice in the spiritual
world, how could anyone one leave?” but by eliminating the
possibility of one leaving, you eliminate their free will.
It
is comforting to reflect, “Our karma is temporary, but we are
eternal and Krishna is eternal.”
Comment
by Caitanya Vallabha Prabhu: Suppose after 45 years of marriage to
your wife, you find out the only the reason she married you was
someone put a gun to her head, how would you feel? In the same way,
Krishna is looking for freely given love.
Yasoda
Dulal Prabhu:
When
our hearts are all like Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s songs we will have
arrived at a very good point.
New
York City was the only Western city where Srila Prabhupada walked
alone.
Keshavananda
Prabhu:
From
our Nrsimhadeva discussion in Newcastle:
Although
some people see Nrsimhadeva as fierce and are afraid of Him, I have
always thought of Him as a kind protector.
Comment
by Bhakti Rasa Prabhu: I wonder if that might have to do with your
being brought up in a devotee family.
Mark:
From
an after dinner conversation:
The
amazing thing is that although a number of people are making a very
great effort to share Krishna consciousness with people, it is still
very much a secret.
You
can come in a wonderful Vaishnava lineage, but if you are a rascal,
you are a rascal, and you have to take responsibility for being
rascal. It is like liquor in a golden pot.
Moderator:
We expect that you think your view is better, otherwise you would be
a conflicted individual.
Kirtida
Dasi:
Can
we pray together? Yes, and when we cannot pray together, we can get
together and observe each other pray. 9/11 was something that did
bring us all together in prayer.
When
I look at all of you, I see you as transcendentalists.
The
verse “Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call
this nondual substance Brahman, Paramatma
or Bhagavan”
(Srimad-Bhagavatam
1.2.11) helps us understand those without faith and those of another
faith.
Those
who see the Supreme in nature are like those who see Brahman
pervading everything.
People
tell you there is a voice in their heart giving advice. That is the
paramatma
feature
of the Lord.
Others
understand, “The Supreme is a person who loves me and who I love.”
A
yogi is a person who trying is to connect with the Supreme.
The
Supreme is the thread that holds us all together. [You do not see the
thread in the necklace holding the pearls together, but without it, they
would
scatter.]
I
teach Hinduism to kids, and thus I think, “If
we cannot come together and observe each other in prayer, what kind
of example are we setting for our children?”
Srila
Prabhupada, in talking with Christian priests, advised as far as
prayer goes, we should pray that we should love the Lord.
Once
I was in Durham Cathedral with an interfaith group, and we sang
Christian songs, Jewish people and me, and it was a very powerful
experience.
Comment
by me: Bhaktivinoda Thakura said, “When
we have occasion to be present at the place of worship of other
religionists at the time of their worship, we should stay there in a
respectful mood, contemplating thus: ‘Here is being worshiped my
adorable highest entity God, in a different form than that of mine.
Due to a different practice of a different kind, I cannot thoroughly
comprehend this system of theirs. But seeing it, I am feeling a
greater attachment for my own system. God is one. I bow down before
His emblem as I see here and offer my prayer to my Lord as adopted in
this different emblem so that He may increase my love toward Him in
the form that is acceptable for me.”
Baptist
minister:
I
pray that our words will be a blessing to each other.
Why
is praying together a problem?
1.
Personal reasons.
People
are insecure. People who do not agree with me probably feel that way
because they are insecure.
2.
Cultural reasons.
9/11.
3.
Theological reasons.
For
me prayer is communication with God.
We
can pray with and pray for people.
God
is much more interested in us loving each other than agreeing with
each other.
My Jewish friends could deal with me praying to the Father, but not in the name of Jesus. My Islamic friends could deal with me praying in the name of Jesus, who they consider a prophet, but not to the Father, who they consider to be transcendent and thus distant.
Because we have different ideas of God, it is difficult to pray together.
Because we have different ideas of God, it is difficult to pray together.
Blessed
are the concise for they will be shown much grace.
Blessed
are the flexible for they will not be broken.
Interfaith
minister:
We
all share the voice of conscience although we do not always listen to
it.
The
Interfaith Foundation gave me the opportunity to be a minister
without surrendering to any particular creed. It was set up by a
rabbi, some Hindus and some Christians for people who wanted to serve
God but not in any particular religion.
I
made a vow to be authentic and to create an environment for others to
be authentic.
I
do services as minister in a Methodist church, and I try to create an
environment for people to experience a connection with the source of
everything within. We hope to create a situation where barriers are
broken down.
Lady
who does interfaith for one mission:
Since
9/11 and the race riots in Blackburn, interfaith became more of
interest to people.
Gentleman
familiar with interfaith and involved with a diocese from Scotland to
Middlesbrough:
It
would be great if we could get a prayer that we could all agree on.
Walk
for Peace visits different faiths in Newcastle in November.
Muslims
accept Mary as one of three great ladies, and one day both the
Christians and Muslims prayed together to her.
These
days people are much more comfortable going into other people’s
place of worship than decades ago.
Older
lady:
I
see the faiths as the spokes of a wheel.
Religious
studies teacher:
Making
people comfortable enough about their own faith to visit other faiths
is a challenge.
I
found teaching different religions, I had to present them properly no
matter my beliefs.
I
chose to be a Christian and being aware of the other religions
increases my conviction as a Christian.
Indira:
In
India we get holidays from all the different religions.
Another
person:
We
can all pray to love and serve God.
-----
We
tend to look for simple, infallible formulas for success in life.
This is one that I recently encountered in my personal reading of Sri
Caitanya-caritamrita:
e
tine saba chadaya, kare krishne ‘bhava’
[Lord Caitanya instructed Sanatana Goswami:] “Association with a devotee, the mercy of Krishna, and the nature of devotional service help one to give up all undesirable association and gradually attain elevation to the platform of love of Godhead.” (Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya 24.104)